On Saturday 25 February, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini hailed the ceasefire obtained the previous day in Libya, saying that "violence will not resolve any of Libya's political challenges".
On Friday evening, the government of national accord announced it had obtained a ceasefire in Tripoli after heavy artillery clashes between armed groups – fighting which left at least nine people wounded. "What is expected by all parties is that they refrain from unilateral acts of violence and ensure the protection of the Libyan, civilian population", Mogherini stated in a press release.
She reiterated the EU's full support to the institutions set up under the Libyan political agreement, "including the Presidency Council and the government of national accord" although the attack on the convoy of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj on 20 February "underlined the fragility of the situation and apparent attempts to disrupt the political process in Libya". All stakeholders in Libya's future should engage constructively in the political process to find a permanent political solution acceptable to all the people of Libya, Mogherini stated.
In a joint press release on Monday 27 February, the ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and USA condemned the clashes in Tripoli, the use of violence and any type of threat directed against the prime minister, and they hailed the truce between forces in the Abou Sleim area in the capital. The use of force is the prerogative of the state institutions and their security forces, they said. The ambassadors called on all parties to cease their acts of violence, which result in the loss of innocent lives and damage the possibility of reaching political and social reconciliation in the country. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)